St Helens 44-22 Hull FC

St Helens maintained their two point lead at the top of the table with a routine 44-22 win over Hull.

Kyle Eastmond scored a brace of tries to condemn Hull to their fifth straight defeat.

Tries from Tony Puletua, Lee Gilmour and Jon Wilkin gave Saints a 16-0 lead, and despite a converted try from Graeme Horne, they maintained their three score advantage at half time thanks to a Paul Wellens score on the hooter.

Saints’ lead was streched to 26-6 by Leon Pryce at the beginning of the second half, before Willie Manu stopped the onslaught with a 52 minute score for the visitors.

But Saints didn’t let up, and Eastmond’s double, as well as tries from Chris Dean and Ade Gardner saw the home side hit the 40 point mark.

Late tries from Mark Calderwood and Graeme Horne gave a bit of respectability to the scoreline, but Hull were sent back across the Pennines with yet more questions asked of their crumbling season.